I hope everyone
had a very happy Easter. As my last few
weeks here in Ireland commence, I want to examine a few final comparisons
between American and Irish sports media coverage. Today, in particular, is a significant day
for all Americans as the Boston Marathon kicks off.
Nobody will
forget the horrifying events that transpired last year, and while Americans
were the ones mainly affected, the Irish followed the story as well. Upon
opening today’s RTÉ Newspaper and going online to cnn.com, I was struck by the
fact that both countries had major articles surrounding today’s event. This wouldn’t happen in America so, to me, it
shows why America gets the stereotype that it does. If something tragic were to happen in
Ireland, I guarantee that local and national news would report it in the states,
but I can almost guarantee with the same amount of certainty that it wouldn’t
be covered the following year. It
therefore makes sense that American’s are viewed as “stuck up” and that we
don’t see anything beyond our borders.
While I cannot change the whole country, I have learned this semester
about the importance of keeping up with international news and I will continue
to follow what is happening in Ireland.
What I find most
interesting about the whole story though, is that both news sources report
about the increased level of security at the marathon this year. Fans aren’t allowed to carry backpacks, and
there are almost twice as many police officers as there were at last years. While this makes “logical sense” when first
heard, it’s a tad confusing when you actually think about it. Just because something happened last year
doesn’t mean that anything will this year…so why such a drastic change in
security?
That’s basically
the same as if a terrorist attack happened in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals one
year and security was raised the next year, yet security at the World Series (a
MUCH more popular event) would stay the same.
Doesn’t this seem a bit absurd?
Anyone who would want to attack would obviously know that doing
something ‘new’ is smarter than trying to repeat a past attempt. I’m not trying to say that there shouldn’t be
security at the marathon, but it seems over-dramatic as is typical of most
American events. I believe that there
should be the same level of security but that the ‘hoopla’ should be centered
around last years victims and the country coming together rather than how much
the police force is doing to prevent another attack.
At the end of
the day, unless you have the same level of security at every single event,
there’s no way to legitimately prevent attacks.
Those who want to carry out evil acts will find a way around the system;
they always do which is why attacks keep happening. It leads me to wonder if this would be the
same in Ireland or if the focus would be on remembering the lives of those who
were lost? I hope you never have to find
out, but it’s an interesting twist on sports coverage in American media.
Links to both stories:
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